Reese Kaplan -- You Don't Deal From Weakness to Build Strength

It seems that many people feel the Mets are going to look to deal away Jose Quintana during the off season because, well, umm...I’m not sure.  He’s left handed...no, that can’t be the reason.  He’s pitched poorly and stolen Steve Cohen’s salary money...nah, that doesn’t jibe.  He’s earning way too much...uh, no...he’s cheaper than Kodai Senga.  He’s old and due for a rapid decline like Carlos Carrasco...hmmn, no, he’s two years younger and pitching well.  

Do the Mets have too many reliable pitchers for 2024 in the starting rotation...the last time I looked going into next season only he and Senga would qualify for the reliable starting pitcher designation.

Sometimes writers (both professional ones and us bloggers) have nothing else to say so they float a trial balloon in the attempt drive up controversy and readership.  Sometimes they might feel they are striking a blow for bravery instead of taking the more conservative route to improving the roster.  Sometimes maybe their adult beverage bought on clearance sale isn’t settling all that well in their head or their stomach.

The problem going into 2024 is not enough starting pitching of any kind and extremely unreliable bullpen arms to support the faltering quintet of guys who are expected to last 6 or more innings on each outing.  Dealing from a weakness is not typically the way to build strength, so makes roster construction doubly difficult.

Often along these same inscrutable lines are the hard swilling scribes who think the other roster member worth dealing away is Brooks Raley.  Raley?  Really?

The last time I looked he is also left handed.  His ERA is just 2.94.  He’s earning $6.5 million this year and can be brought back for the same salary.  I’ll grant he’s the ultimate late bloomer whose first solid season wasn’t until 2022 but he’s shown in 2023 that as he’s about to turn 37 it was not a mirage and he’s the best southpaw in the pen they’ve seen since the unfathomable (and irreplicable) season Aaron Loup provided during is one year as a Met. 

Now the Mets bullpen is hurting in the worst way.  Yes, they have Adam Ottavino who has been solid for this season and Edwin Diaz is due back next year.  Here’s the clincher, though...that is it.  There is no one who has shown the kind of talent, consistency nor healthy to indicate he’s got a fixed spot on the upcoming roster.

So here we go again...if the talent pool is that thin, the idea would be to supplement it to fatten it up rather than to encourage it to go anorexic. 

No one knows what David Stearns has in mind when he assumes the October reigns of the New York Mets, but it’s clear he’s been hired to develop and implement a long term vision of winning.  Expect that the upcoming offseason won’t be like the one that preceded it given the outcome that resulted.  There will be participation in free agency as that route is the easiest way to add people to the roster, but also consider the trade route which has been a fairly under utilized approach since Billy Eppler came on board.  

The word is out that the Mets are not going to be giving away every top prospect for has-been older players as was done in the past, but do expect some judicious swaps of people without clear roles on the team in the future to indeed take place.